if you're a young entrepreneur who owns your own business or wants to launch one, you have two basic ways to raise money: with debt and with equity. Debt financing means borrowing money. Equity financing means selling a piece of the company. One advantage to equity financing is that you don't have to go into debt. The equity investor becomes an owner just like you rather, than a creditor. If the business fails, he loses his investment and that's the end of it. Of course, if the business is a success, you don't get all the goodies for yourself. The equity investor gets a share, too.